The secret to a happy life — lessons from 8 decades of research | Robert Waldinger
TED Health
TED
4.2 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 26 December 2023
⏱️ 21 minutes
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Summary
The happiest and healthiest people are those who have an abundance of warm connections with others, says psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, who leads the Harvard Study of Adult Development — one of the longest-running studies of adult life ever conducted. We’re revisiting a conversation that explores the link between social bonds and quality of life, as Waldinger shares insights into how to identify and strengthen the relationships that impact your well-being most. This conversation, hosted by TED current affairs curator Whitney Pennington Rodgers, was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. Visit ted.com/membership to become a TED Member. After the talk, Shoshana shares a surprising perspective shift that may boost your happiness.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Ted Audio Collective |
| 0:16.1 | Hey listeners this is Ted Health. I'm Dr. Shoshana Unger The search for what makes us truly happy is as old as well pretty much forever. |
| 0:24.4 | Whether you look for happiness in religion, work, or art, |
| 0:28.2 | it seems like there's no one true answer. |
| 0:31.2 | But a monumental scientific study from over 80 years of data has isolated |
| 0:35.8 | one extremely consistent variable. Strong relationships. |
| 0:41.0 | Psychiatrist and Zen Priest, Dr. Robert Waldinger, the lead researcher on this study, talks about the seemingly simple but extremely profound value of close ties. |
| 0:52.0 | And stick around after the talk, as we'll find out. profound value of close ties. |
| 0:52.6 | And stick around after the talk |
| 0:54.2 | as we'll find out how an unconventional shift |
| 0:56.6 | in perspective might be an effective strategy |
| 0:59.5 | for increasing happiness each day. I'm Dr. Brian Goldman, host of the CBC Podcast, The Dose. Each week we answer health topics in a smart and sometimes counterintuitive way you won't hear anywhere else. |
| 1:26.0 | Like, what's the least amount of exercise I can do to get the benefits? |
| 1:30.0 | Which psychedelics can improve my mental health? |
| 1:32.0 | And how can I check for cancer if I don't have a fan? Psych |
| 1:35.0 | My psychedelics can improve my mental health. |
| 1:36.0 | Top experts help me bring you what you need to know in plain language |
| 1:40.0 | in about 20 minutes. |
| 1:41.0 | Find the dose on the CBC Listen app or wherever you get your |
| 1:44.4 | podcast. In 2015 I gave a TEDx talk in a little elementary school auditorium and much to my surprise the talk became one of the |
| 2:06.7 | ten most viewed talks in the history of Ted and in that talk I conveyed one simple scientific finding. |
| 2:17.8 | The finding that when we study hundreds of people over their entire adult lives, the people who turn out to be the |
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